


S.T.A.R. Light, S.T.A.R. Bright

by melissima



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-03 00:05:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2830904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissima/pseuds/melissima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The S.T.A.R. Labs crew celebrates the new year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	S.T.A.R. Light, S.T.A.R. Bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peacefulboo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacefulboo/gifts).



"It's New Year's Eve! Let's get out of here for a while," Barry said, bumping Caitlin's shoulder with his own.  
"I don't have time, Dr. Wells wants these numbers by--" the world blurred sickeningly around her, and then snapped into focus again, but the lab had been replaced by the coffee shop. She managed not to yelp, barely. Tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, she arranged her face in what she hoped was a convincing glare. "Three pm today," she finished. "Barry," she continued sotto voce, "Do we need to have a talk about consent?"  
"Want me to get you an Uber back to the lab?"  
His smirk made her wish she had a sofa pillow to whack him with. She settled for a poke in his ribs, instead.  
"I promise I'll ask first, next time."  
"Fancy meeting you two here," Iris said. She and Eddie were just stepping into the coffee line when his cell phone and Barry's chirped. "Come on, Allen."  
Iris smiled brightly and kissed Eddie, but as soon as the two men were gone, her expression sobered.  
Caitlin laid a hand on her arm, "It's early, he might still be free for whatever you had planned."  
Iris schooled her expression, but Caitlin could tell it took effort. "I just wanted us to have one night to ourselves, you know?" 

#

"This popcorn is evil, Caitlin. What have you done to me?"  
"Sriracha is amazing on everything, but I swear it was created for popcorn."  
She and Iris'd finished two rounds of cosmos while watching Love Actually, and had chosen While You Were Sleeping as the second movie in their New Year Chick Flick Marathon. It had been so long since she had a friend outside Star Labs. Iris had always been Barry's friend, but tonight she seemed content in Caitlin's company.  
Caitlin picked up her phone on the second ring. "Barry?"  
"Caitlin, sorry, I--"  
"Barry,"  
"I just remembered you hadn't finished with your numbers when--"  
"Barry!" she interrupted, "Wells gave me until end of day on the 3rd since you got called in by the department."  
"Oh! Good! I promise I'm all yours again as soon as -- Eddie, I already bagged the cell phone, it's in my--yeah. Thanks. Sorry, Caitlin I didn't want to--"  
Caitlin covered the phone with her hand, and asked Iris,"How come he's the one who sounds tipsy?"  
Iris shook her head fondly. "He's been like that all our lives," she said, "One conversation at a time, Barry!" she yelled.  
"Iris? Hey Eddie, Iris is there!" Barry said. Caitlin passed her the phone. Barry must've put Eddie on, because Iris stepped away and dropped her voice below audible.  
When she came back, her expression was happier. "Thanks for keeping me company tonight," Iris said.  
"Not as good as a hot date, I know," Caitlin shrugged, "but pretty good."  
"I don't know why we haven't done this before, but we are SO doing it again," Iris said.  
Caitlin nodded and smiled, got up to refill the popcorn bowl.

#

"What is it?" Barry said, causing Cisco and Dr. Wells to turn away from the monitor they were studying. "Sorry to tear you away from work, Mr. Allen, but sensors on our end indicate there may be metahuman involvement with your current case. I thought you'd want to see these readings right away. The radiation is moderate, not dangerous unless you're exposed for a long time, but it's tightly focused on your victim's thoracic area,"  
"Dude, it's like the guy has a lump of dying plutonium in his chest," Cisco said.  
"How did you pick this up off my monitors," Barry asked, "I'm not even wearing my suit! "  
Cisco beamed. "I tagged you with a microdot when you bent over to tie your shoe earlier."  
"Little shit!" Barry smiled, shoved Cisco and sidestepped when he swung around to shove back.  
"Payback for the kick me sign you flashed on to my back yesterday," Cisco said.  
"Gentlemen, I think it's time Barry got back to work, don't you?"  
Cisco grumbled as he turned back to his workstation, but a message popped up on his monitor:  
"Microdot *that* guy! Or at least put a bell on him."  
"Definitely," Cisco said, even though Barry was long gone.

#

"Good afternoon," Wells told them when they'd gathered in their work area at Star Labs. "Thank you for coming in on a holiday."  
Got something urgent, Dr. Wells?" Barry asked. He looked far too chipper for someone who'd worked all night.  
Caitlin fought not to flinch when a projector started up, piercing her brain with rays of bright light. Maybe Cosmos hadn't been such a great idea.  
"As a matter of fact, I do. You and Cisco were discussing the use of microdots on your civillian clothes yesterday," he gestured to the screen, where the team's encounters with metahumans. "We have the technology to monitor each other, protect each other, in this new world. I think it's time we did that."  
He showed them several images of clothes, jewelry, phones, and watches that had trackers and sensors attached. "Figure out where we should put your sensors for the maximum coverage. The protection only helps if it's with you at the time of an attack."  
"Dr. Wells?" Caitlin made herself speak up in spite of the awkwardness she felt. "What if we have . . .personal time, that we don't want monitored?"  
"That's why the sensor is attached to an accessory you can remove for bathing or other private activities," he smiled. "This is not an exercise in surveillance, I just want to keep an eye on my team, that's all.

#

Barry picked his watch, Cisco his hoodie. Dr. Welles unsurprisingly chose his power wheelchair, joking that if he went anywhere without that, he certainly didn't want them to hear about it. He went back to his office as soon as Cisco attached it.  
Barry took off when his sensor was in place too, claiming a family holiday dinner with Joe and Iris.  
That left Caitlin agonizing over her choice of sensor location while she watched Cisco install his own. A year ago, the choice would have been obvious -- her engagement ring. But today, looking at the new year spreading out before her, she was sure there would come a day when she wouldn't always wear it. Ronnie had told her outright, one day over sushi when it became clear that their jobs had become more dangerous than they bargained for: "If anything ever happens to me, don't -- don't just waste away being sad. You gotta find someone else to love you if that happens, Cait, because you're amazing and you deserve that. Promise me."  
She'd outright refused. She still didn't want to think about dating, about looking at some stranger and saying stuff to him she'd only ever said to Ronnie. But she didn't want to be a weirdo about it, either.  
A nerf dart bounced off her chest. "No mopey face. Did you pick something yet?"  
"No, I--"  
"Good, because I already put one on your present," He produced a square-ish box wrapped in the comics pages.  
"You got me a . . . wait, that's creepy. You put a sensor on my present?"  
"What. ever. It's a sensor, not a camera. Open it."  
The charm bracelet inside was nothing she would ever have bought for herself, but it was lovely, in silver and semi-precious stones. There were several stars, a lightning bolt, and a trophy-shaped charm that said, "World's best sister." Caitlin didn't have to look to know that was where Cisco had hidden the sensor. She looked up, speechless, to find he had already turned back to his workstation.  
She hooked her arm around his neck roughly and smooched his cheek. "Your present is coming from Amazon in two days."  
"Slacker," he said without looking up.  
"Not my fault! you're the one who upped the ante."  
Cisco chuckled evilly. She slipped back to her own desk and grabbed the nerf gun she kept there. "Happy new year, sucka!" she cried, pelting him with pellets even as she danced away, giggling.  
"Oh, it's on," Cisco crowed, all work forgotten.


End file.
